Logan Capital Management Inc. Has $4.70 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,836 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $98.40 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $201.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.